1. Field
The presently disclosed subject matter relates generally to fasteners. In particular, the disclosed subject matter relates to surgical fasteners and methods for use in implanting an interbody device between adjacent or separate (i.e. neighboring but not necessarily naturally adjacent) vertebrae.
2. Background
Fasteners have commonly been used in surgical applications for attaching tissue, such as bone, to various other structures, such as medical devices or implants, other bone structure, soft tissue such as muscle or ligaments, etc.
In one application, in order to stabilize two adjacent or separate vertebrae of the spine, medical professionals will typically place a first component, commonly referred to as a cage, between adjacent target vertebrae. The cage will then be secured to the vertebrae using bone screws that traverse angled apertures in the cage to attach to upper and lower target vertebrae. Sometimes, a second component, typically referred to as a plate, is attached to both the cage and the upper and lower target vertebrae via fastener(s). The plate acts to further secure the cage in position and prevents back-out and/or movement or migration of the cage itself. One example of such a plate used with a cage device and which includes fasteners for securing the plate to a patient's vertebrae is disclosed in the present Applicant's U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/944,545 entitled “Spinal Interbody Device, System and Method,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Fasteners currently available are not typically designed for use with the above-referenced cage and plate structures. In addition, further fastening devices and/or materials are sometimes needed to ensure proper adherence and tolerances are maintained between the plate and certain fasteners.